Vespa Friendly

An informal meeting for a quick chat & drinks with fella Vespa mates...

GTS/GTV horn light installed...wow !

I've always wanted an extra light on the lx, finally got myself a GTS/GTV horn light, abit of modification is required.. this is one of the few accessories which I think is really worth the buck spent and it really does help during night time... looks pretty cool to me :)

Vespa Top Case Roll bag

After waiting restlessly for about a month, the Vespa leatherette top case roll bag finally arrived from Italy, u know how it is with the Italian postal system, probably one of the worst that I've found so far. I got this one pre-owned from an Italian seller, he said that it was on his PX for about a year or so and that its not available anymore, not sure if this is true or not but I've not seen it elsewhere, not even on ebay. At first, I wanted to buy the Piaggio leather top case but it was not in production anymore and the price is just crazy, around 500-700 USD, Lol !, then I looked at the Hungarian leather top case, u can find him/her on ebay, seller id : yelcome , the leather looked fine, I just didn't like the chromium belts, it just looked too cheap for me. Luckily, I stumbled upon this Vespa bag by a coincidence, condition is about 80-85% but I like the look and color of it, miraculously the leather shade does match my LXV leather seat, and its got the Vespa logo upfront which is rather rare imho. The best part, it was alot cheaper than I thought, so here it is, enjoy ! Happy hunting....

Matte black rims with white walls...

Last post for today, just did a custom matte black rims with white walls, the black out rims just complements the Schwalbe white walls, best of both worlds, abit sportier yet not too flashy..

My one & only Breitling Navitimer

I'm kind of free today so I did alot of posts, won't be posting for the next few days. Nothing much, this is the only Breitling watch model that I would buy, not too bulky yet still confusing to look at. Bought this one back in 2001 or 2002, its one of the two watches in my collection that does appreciate in value, hallelujah !

My little Omen with LXV seat installed...

What does Omen have to do with this little Vespa, well, its my lucky number 6, and my license registration is number 666, so from now on I will address him as my little "Omen". Updated version with the LXV seat installed and I've also changed to a Vespa large windscreen for a more subtle and touring look...^_^ Did a sort of dramatic sepia tone on these two pics.

My LXV leather seat has arrived...

You're probably wondering why I have to buy an extra seat, well, the original seat that came with the LX150ie was torn in middle after using it for a mere 2000 kilometers due to poor qc, so I had a reason to look for something different. I've always wanted the old skool two seated leather seats like the vintage Vespa so I did some research and found that the LXV seat could be installed in the LX with no modification. E-mailed my relative in the UK to look for one, and after about a month it arrived here in Thailand, my LX is the 1st LX to be equipped with a genuine Vespa LXV leather seat here, it did cause some stirred among the Vespa fans here :) Voila !

Updated Ermax flyscreen and FA Italia retractable back rest

Nothing much to say... just an idea for you out there who haven't installed any flyscreen yet, it does help with the aerodynamics, I do get better acceleration from 60-90 faster than without the flyscreen, my stock lx150ie maxed out at about 110 km/h though I have heard of some friends who have reached 115 km/h on highways but I'm not really too concerned about the top ends, I would like abit more torque in the mid-range which is where I use it most. Almost forgot, replaced a pair of Schwalbe white walls, alot better than the stock Maxxis tires. Cherio !

My Heuer Monaco CS2111

Got this one about 10 yrs ago, it was love at first sight, mechanically it was nothing special and I bought it purely for the looks and abit of the Steve Mcqueen legacy. Haven't worn it much lately, been sitting in the safe deposit box for quite awhile, just took it out about a month ago for a check up and I have changed a new louisiana alligator strap since, it does look better than the original black plain leather strap. Personally, I still like this 2nd Edition Monaco the most, kind of hard to find nowadays in good condition, if you look carefully on the dial you'll see that there is no "Tag" before Heuer, a genuine re-edition of the classic Monaco, the later Monaco editions all have changed to "Tag Heuer" after their takeover from the LVMH group. :)

My ride !

You may be wondering why I chose this small two wheelie named Vespa, well its more of a coincidence, I've always been a car guy, having driven cars for over 20 years. Lately, my new house and business is pretty close by about 7 kilometers and as you all know, traffic in Bangkok can be a pain during the rush hours so I started looking for a bike, firstly I was looking at the Japanese bikes but they were all too plasticky for me. After looking and searching on the internet for awhile I stumbled upon a Vespa scooter, so I did some research and went to see one at a local dealership, it was love at first sight, the curve and the design just felt right to me. Secondly, I learned that the body was made of monocoque steel and after test driving, it just felt even right, very stable at cruising speed of 80kms not wobbly like the Jap scooters. I bought a 2011 Vespa LX150ie (fuel injected model) 65 Anniversary Limited Edition in muschio green, green is just my color and I've not seen this green being offered in other countries, its more like a Thailand only limited edition. This ltd edt came in two models, a LX150ie and a S150ie, total of 265 being made with the ltd edition badge present on the glove box. I like this muschio green, during the day it'll look like dark glittered green but at night its more like metallic black. Here are pics of my ride in its original condition, you'll see progress of the mods in later posts. Cheers !

Vespa models in Thailand

All new/modern Vespa are being distributed by Vespiario (Thailand) Co,. Ltd., you could check out their website for a complete range of Vespa's being sold her http://www.vespa.co.th/index_vespa.php  Basically, we have all of Vespa's line up except for the LXV which I would have bought if it were available here. Engine wise, its in the range of 125-300ccs, we don't have the 50cc models as in Europe or America. The LX/S are imported in from Vietnam while the bigger GTS/GTV are imported directly from Italy, thereby making the price of GTS/GTV very expensive here due to our hefty import taxes. GTS/GTV cost about 10 grands, which make it a luxury to drive here.

Sawasdee Krub everyone !

I'm pretty sure you're wondering what "Sawasdee Krub" means, its just a Thai way of saying Hello, or Aloha as the Hawaiians do. My nic is Sam and I'm from Thailand, I'm pretty sure a number of you have been here for the holidays. Anyway, I'm writing this blog as I don't see alot of blogs on Vespa in English, especially in Thailand. We do have a big number of Vespa users here both old and new and probably the largest in Southeast Asia, Vespa started doing business here in the late 50s and closed down in the late 70s due to the import of cheap and fuel efficient Japanese scooters and bikes. The new or modern era Vespas have been reintroduced into the Thai market nearly 3 years ago in 2009, and I'm one proud owner of a 2011 - Vespa 65 Anniversary Limited Edition Muschio Green LX150 ie (fuel injected model). Though I like the look of vintage Vespa, its just not my kind of ride, so this blog will be mainly about modern Vespas in Thailand (trips, private club meetings, modifications, galleries etc) and my wrist watch reviews. I'll try to update frequently but its not a promise, feel free to comment or share this blog, hope it'll be useful to other Vespa users. :)